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Split in UN Security Council widens
Just as they did the last three times they met, the 15 members of United Nations Security Council agreed on Friday that Iraq has not complied with their demands that it disarm immediately and completely. And just as in previous gatherings, they disagreed over what to do about it and when. The Bulgarian ambassador was just on FoxNews, discussing the backroom sessions. There weren't any fistfights, and nobody's moustache seems to have been cursed, but other than that it wasn't pretty... On the day after U.S. President George W. Bush said more starkly than ever before that he didn't need their approval to go to war, and that it was time for them to "show their cards (and) let the world know where they stand," country after country told the United States it was wrong in insisting that Iraq's chance to disarm was all but over and war was imminent. "Nope. Nope. Can't do it." The majority found reason for guarded hope that war could be avoided. Pakistan's UN ambassador, Munir Akram, said, "We believe there is no imminent threat to international peace and security. The cost of delay, in our view, will be much less than the cost of war." "And if we're wrong, well, no skin off our fore..." The members pleaded for unity, and some talked of compromise. Cameroon is one of the six "undecided" countries the U.S. hopes to woo to its side before a vote is taken. The others are Mexico, Chile, Angola, Guineau and Pakistan. In what is likely to be their last high-level council statement on the matter, none gave any hint on Friday of support for the U.S. resolution, and all called for continued inspections. But U.S. and British officials said they would launch a concentrated weekend of "persuasion," and insisted that nothing was final until the actual vote was taken. "They know there are other interests engaged," said one official, referring by way of example to a U.S.-Chile free trade agreement that must be approved by the U.S. Congress. I don't think we should be giving anything away until the actual vote takes place. I don't think we're going to win it, so we should save the money... Significantly, none of the six fully supported the other extreme of the argument. France, Russia, Germany, China and Syria have called for inspections to continue indefinitely until chief UN inspector Hans Blix tells them there is no more progress to be made. Most of the undecided six said they preferred that the council delineate tasks for Iraq to complete within a specified deadline — along the lines of a compromise proposed last week by Canada, which is not a council member. Neither the United States nor the French side expressed much interest on Friday in a compromise, although France said it was willing to shorten the time between scheduled inspector reports to the council. Posted by: Fred Pruitt 2003-03-09 |
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